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COUNTY~ OF ~ ~

~Placer· -------­HUMAN RESOURCES

DATE: September 10, 2019

TO: Board of Supervisors

MEMO RAN DUM

FROM: Kate Sampson, Interim Human Resources Director By: Suzanne Holloway, Human Resources Manager

SUBJECT: Updates to the MOU between PPEO and the County regarding Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium Pay

ACTION REQUESTED

Approve the attached Side Letter Agreement with the Placer Public Employees Organization (PPEO) regarding employee eligibility for Tahoe Premium Assignment pay.

BACKGROUND

When the current PPEO MOU was adopted in July 2017, several departments with staff assigned to the Tahoe area expressed concern with the revised eligibility requirements for employees to receive the Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium (formerly referred to as Tahoe Subsistence Pay). While previous language allowed anyone assigned to work in the Tahoe area to receive additional pay, the language in the 2017 contract limited eligibility to only those residing in the Tahoe area. A side letter clarifying eligibility requirements for this incentive was signed on September 5, 2017 (see Attachment 1 ). Current language excludes from eligibility staff who may reside in the Reno/Sparks area and other surrounding communities, as the intent was to encourage staff to live within the area in which they worked.

In January of this year, the Human Resources (HR) Department met with staff in the department of Public Works and Facilities to discuss concerns regarding the County's ability to recruit and retain qualified bus drivers in the Tahoe area. As with many positions assigned to the Tahoe area, affordable housing was identified as one barrier to recruitment and retention. Follow up conversations with the County Executive Office (CEO) and executive management staff from other departments in the Tahoe area supported the belief that the current contract language was adversely affecting recruitment, particularly for hard to recruit jobs such as bus drivers. As a result, HR began to meet and confer with PPEO to identify a mutually agreeable solution.

RECOMMENDATION

As a result of a collaborative effort between the CEO's Office, PPEO, and HR, the attached side letter was drafted as part of the meet and confer process and was signed by the Business Representative and the President of PPEO, effective September 14, 2019. In order to bolster the County's recruitment and

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September 10, 2019 Updates to the MOU between PPEO and the County regarding Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium Pay Page 2

retention efforts for the Tahoe area, the proposed side letter expands the qualifying residency requirements for the Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium Pay to include employees residing within 50 driving miles of the Tahoe Administrative Office in Tahoe City. This amendment is anticipated to provide additional affordable housing options to applicants and employees, as well as positively impact the County's ability to meet staffing needs to support Tahoe operations. If approved, the side letter would remain in effect for the duration of the current PPEO negotiated contract, which expires on June 30, 2022.

FISCAL IMPACT

As of January 2019, there were 164 employees assigned to work in Tahoe. Of these, 15 staff do not receive the Tahoe Premium Assignment pay, either because they are extra help (9 people) or because they live outside the current qualifying area (6 people). If adopted, 2 of the 6 employees living outside the current qualifying area would be eligible for the incentive, which would result in an annual cost to the County of approximately $21 ,000. While this does not appear to represent a substantial amount of County staff, it is anticipated that proposed language updates will result in an increased qualified applicant pool for future recruitments. Any additional costs associated with this change will be absorbed by individual departments in their current budgets.

ATTACHMENT

Attachment 1 - PPEO Side letter

Page 2

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Attachment 1

SIDE lETTER AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNTY OF PlACER AND

PlACER PUBliC EMPlOYEES ORGANIZATION {PPEO)

TAHOE BRANCH ASSIGNMENT PREMIUM UPDATE

This Side Letter of Agreement is entered into between the County of Placer and the PPEO {"Parties") to

make minor modifications to certain sections of the current Memorandum of Understanding {MOU)

covering the term July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2022. It is understood that the specific provisions contained

in this Side Letter Agreement shall supersede any previous agreements or side letters, whether oral or

written, regarding the negotiated Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium.

The Parties have met and conferred in good faith concerning the terms and conditions of this side letter

agreement and its implementation, and now therefore mutually agree that Section 6.16 of the current

MOU be replaced with the language shown below effective upon the first full pay period after adoption

by the Board of Supervisors. New language is noted in bold/underline and deletions are noted in strike

through.

6.16- TAHOE BRANCH ASSIGNMENT PREMIUM

a. Tahoe Braneh Assignment Premium shall be seven hundred and seventy five dollars ($775) per

month.

b. Hfeeti\'e the first pay period following July 1, 2018, Tahoe Braneh Assignment Premium shall be

eight hundred and twenty five dollars ($825) per month.

~e. Effective the first pay period following July 1, 2019, Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium shall be

eight hundred and seventy-five dollars {$875) per month.

Q4. Effective UI'JOn the adoption of the Agreement by the Board of ~upervisors September 14, 2019,

employees hired into or transferring into assigned to a position located in the North Lake Tahoe

area and who reside in the following areas within fifty (SO) driving miles of the Placer County

Tahoe Administrative Center, located at 775 N. lake Blvd in Tahoe City, will qualify for the

Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium: the ~erene Lake area and all areas in Placer County east of

the ~erene Lake area; the f:merald Bay area and all areas in California north of fmerald Bay area;

the South Lake Tahoe area in El Dorado County, C/\; all of the Lake Tahoe Basin area ineluding

Washoe County, Nevada (but only that portion of Washoe County that is 'Nithin the Tahoe Basin);

and the Town of Truekee and the unineorporated Truekee area in Nevada County, C/\ anel

immediate viEinity.

1. Employees will be required to request Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium and will need to

demonstrate and certify residency within the specific areas.

2. Employees will be required to notify Human Resources if they no longer reside in an area

qualifying for Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium.

1

108

Attachment 1

3. Employees already receiving Tahoe Branch Assignment Premium at the time this Agreement

is adopted by the Board of Supervisors will continue to receive the premium for the

uninterrupted and continuous duration of the employee's position in the North Lake Tahoe

area. If an employee no longer occupies a position in the North Lake Tahoe area, but

resumes a position in the North Lake Tahoe area after the adoption of this Agreement, the

residency requirement of this section will apply to the employee upon re-occupying the same

or different position in the North Lake Tahoe area.

4. Residency under this section shall be determined in accordance with the Government Code

section 244.

The terms and conditions set forth in this Side Letter Agreement have been mutually agreed upon by the

designated bargaining representatives of the County and PPEO, and will apply to all employees covered

by the MOU between the County and the PPEO.

This Side Letter Agreement shall expire upon the operative effect of the current MOU.

Authorized and Approved on behalf of the PPEO:

Bart Florence, Business Manager Date

Steve Crouch, Director of Public Employees Date

Gary Winegar, Business Representative Date

Brandy Dunkel, PPEO President Date

Ricky Martino, PPEO Vice President Date

Authorized and Approved on behalf of the Placer County Board of Supervisors:

Kirk Uhler, Chairman Date

Todd Leopold, County Executive Officer Date

Kate Sampson, Human Resources Director Date

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